836 Naval Air Squadron

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836 Naval Air Squadron
ActiveMarch 1942 - July 1945
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Battle honoursAtlantic, 1943-45

836 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.

History

836 Naval Air Squadron officially formed for the first time at

Lieutenant Commander
Ransford Slater. He took command in July 1942 and worked up the squadron at Thorney Island until March 1943 when it was based at Machrihanish.

Lieutenant Commander Slater

Slater had personally led the squadron's 'A' flight in the first attachment to

Merchant Navy
had widely differing working practices and traditions.

"During the weeks of training, Slater was in his element. His leadership was evident in every aspect. His skill in unlocking the secrets of how to land on a floating postage-stamp were passed on to his pilots, while, at the same time, he made the team feel that their contribution to the success of the enterprise was vital.."

One thing he arranged was that the air party on the ships signed ships articles and hence placed themselves under the orders of the Ship's Master. For this they were supposed to receive one shilling per month and a bottle of beer per day. They got the beer โ€“ seven bottles every Sunday. It also entitled them to wear the small silver 'MN' lapel badge on their uniforms, which caused not a little upset with more traditional senior RN officers. Another of Slater's rules for the squadron was that flight commanders must have completed a full round trip under another flight commander before being eligible to take over.

The squadron operated the Fairey Swordfish Mark II and they were painted all white (apparently the best camouflage for daylight flight over water). Some flights got carried away and replaced the Royal Navy legend on the rear fuselage with Merchant Navy โ€“ to the consternation of some observers. With a flight for each of 19 ships, plus a few spare flights for training and relief, the squadron eventually grew to a strength of 91 aircraft, certainly a Fleet Air Arm record[1] and probably a world one. Slater was awarded the military OBE for his efforts, particularly for landing on a MAC ship carrying 2 depth charges after his arrester hook had been torn away. He was killed by flying into powerlines near Derry on 28 June 1944.

Some of the crews and aircraft were lent to

D-Day
landings.

After VE-Day, 836 squadron was disbanded in July 1945.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 836 Naval Air Squadron, data from[2]
From To Aircraft Version
March 1942 February 1943 Fairey Swordfish Mk.I
March 1943 June 1945 Fairey Swordfish Mk.II
August 1943 September 1943 Supermarine Walrus
December 1944 May 1945 Fairey Swordfish Mk.III

Commanding officers

Officers commanding No. 836 Naval AIr Squadron, data from[2]
From To Name
March 1942 July 1942 Lieutenant Commander J.A. Crawford
July 1942 June 1944 Lieutenant Commander R.W. Slater, DSC
June 1944 March 1945 Lieutenant Commander J.R.C. Callander
March 1945 July 1945 Lieutenant Commander F.G.B. Sheffield, DSC (Acting)

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ Mably, John R. "The Effectiveness of Merchant Aircraft Carriers" (PDF). The University of Brighton. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b "fleetairarmarchive.net". Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Bibliography
  • Sturtivant, Ray & Theo Ballance. The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1994. .